The card reads as follows:Congratulations! You are one of the 1 in 100,000 people who has been entered in the amazing LIAR GAME TOURNAMENT!

Along with the postcard there is 100 million yen in notes. That's the beginning of the Liar Game. When the game ends, in 30 days, you will have to return your 100 million. If your opponent steals them, he can keep them as a prize, and you will have a debt of 100 million...

What I mean by the title is the it's a manga about unusual games and the characters try to find ways to cheat, deceive, and trick the other players in these games. There are also good people trying to do the right thing and help others, sadly they get cussed at, and ironically if they did join up work together it would be easier. So why read Liar Game? For me it was enjoyable trying to come up with strategies to win the games and save people at the same time, or in other words predict what was going to happen next in the manga. Normally predicting what happens next is too easy for me and the manga ends up becoming less enjoyable for me that way, however it was not the same for Liar Game. I really liked it. The reason I gave it a 7.7 is:

Spoiler (mouse over to view)

You don't get much time away from the games and while that is okay for the most part, I felt the need to take a break from reading every now and then. Simply, there is no down time for the manga where the real life of the characters are expressed. So they could have expanded on the potential relationship of the main characters or even Akiyama/Fukunaga; the joke about how a tranny likes him. I suppose the biggest factor though was the cliffhanger ending. Yes the Liar Game was over and it may be a set up for a sequel but without knowing when the sequel will, if ever, be released, the point is mute for now.

however, while I understand that they had to reveal the secrets in the end, I feel they rushed that part and it feels axed

it could be because they want to enter the sequel (which it strongly hints at) but I feel they couldve made one more volume before cutting that, or at least have one where the main character finds out or suggest stuff and what not

regardless, I look forward to the sequel and recommend this manga to anyone labeling as one of my favorite reads

... did not do the manga any favors. I really like most of the manga - Nao starts off as really annoying, and develops slowly, but she does develop into a quite good character. And Akiyama's shenanigans are always fun.

But the last arc falls flat in comparison with the rest. The manga ending reveals the identities of the liar game organizers, and I didn't find that revelation particularly satisfying, or in keeping with the tone of the rest of the manga.

Not to mention that the ending is actually way too open for my taste. I just can't tell whether this is because it's intentinoally leaving room for a sequel, or because it was axed.

This manga was great. There were plot holes but I didn't really mind and I don't notice it most of the time. I'm a bit biased when it comes to my favs haha. I think that the art was unique and the reactions were kind of exaggerated yet priceless.It tackles human nature and hit bulls-eye's. And a lot of 'em too. The games reflect real life like how the musical chairs was about politics and stuff. I like Nao most of all.Nao and Akiyama complement each other. The two of them would most probably not win without each other(even if akiyama is a genius). Though I found nao kind of annoying at first, she made a huge impact to me. Her growth was well-paced. She changed slowly but surely, not overnight, too. But what I liked the most about her was that her values didn't change. She was still the honest nao minus some of the naivety and a lot of tears. Because when some female heroines change, they go for revenge and tend to have icy hearts. Lol. Okay, maybe I'm wrong about that but I think that Nao is a symbol of hope. She's not perfect and too honest and idealistic. Not too realistic for a seinen? I don't think so. Because IMO in the 7 billion people on earth, it's not impossible that there's one Kanzaki Nao, Moreover it's more about the LG, psychology and human nature rather than the MC.

While the mind games are actually quite simple and predictable (at least for me), the character development is really good.

Nao, a truly annoying university girl with too little wit and suspicions of others, learns from a con-artist to become a more realistic and intelligent person.

Meanwhile, her good nature also slowly awakens the better sides of the con artist. It's a win win situation!!

The best part for me is that I can clearly see Nao's improvement throughout the story, and the fact that every now and then she would revert back to her old self makes this story more realistic as well.

I JUST NEED THE AUTHOR TO STOP HAVING LONG HIATUSES AND EVERYTHING WOULD BE PERFECT.

I agree to admit that the start of this manga is have so many flaws, but we must remember that this is a manga. when you open the first page it means you agree with the all rules that this manga have. Just like when you read One Piece or Naruto.Anyway, at first I thought it will like another survival game manga where you put your life at stake which is lot of blood so I didn't bother to read it. but since I didn't have anything to read well I forced to, and turned out its another awesome manga.Because its not a deathmatch where when you lose its over but instead it takes something more complicated that is human basic insting. Deception, Lie, Domination, Truth where that what makes human evolved more that another being.The character development is steadily growing right in every moment (even thought i think its too slow). the story itself is quite complicated which I think thats what you do when you want to deceive someone. the art itself not great but enough to provide every scene perfectly. overall its an awesome manga with great plot. and also loved how an item from One Outs manga shown here. (I know its from the same mangaka but its just fun seeing that..)I won't say that its the greatest, but I definitely gonna read this multiple times.

Imagine. You are in your living room. Suddenly someone sprints through your garden and tapes a note to your front window. The note says:"When I ring your doorbell and you open the door, you agree to hand me 2 quadrillion Yen."You start to panic. Will you be forced to keep your door locked for the rest of your life, because of some random stranger. Then your thought progress is interupted by your doorbell ringing.Of course smart lad you are, you ask whos ringing before you open the door.The person on the other side says postmen. So you open up. But ooh the clever devil fooled you.Its the person who just sprinted through your garden in a post uniform. But the man shows mercy and agrees to take your family jewels instead of the money. You hand him the box containing thejewels but replace the stuff lying on the bottom with rocks. The man checks the box only sees the stuff on top and walks away. You take your well earned rest knowing that you tricked that fool out of half your jewels. ;D

If that described you perfectly, you are just like a character out of the liar game. ^^This is the first problem the series has. Apart from 1-3 characters who are about as intelligent as theaverage Joe everybody is really stupid and just there to fill the numbers.

The second problem lies with the author.He tries hard to create a threathening athmosphere with (seemingly) hopless situations for the characters. Sadly he ignores any law doing so and is keen to invent new ones that don't exist. (To name an example. A contract is either binding to everyone signing or to nobody. It doesn't matter if you sign with "Spiderman" or your actual name.)So one has to simply accept whatever happens in this series deep thinking and placing yourself in the shoes of any player different from the main char will tear up (huge) plot holes. I'm mentioning that because it is sad for a manga focusing on mind games and logic.There also lies the next problem sometimes the author overlooks holes in his games, meaning he declares a strategy a sure win strategy when in fact it isn't. (Some might remember a certain game where players traded already casted votes but nobody thought of trading uncast votes, which of course would've destroyed the authors sure win strategy and would mean its possible to name a winner even before round one)

So those were a lot of negatives. But I like a lot of the games the author designed. It's fun thinking how oneself would act faced with thegames presented. Also logic flaws and stupidness arent on a level that makes it impossible to read the series. On the contrary. Some reactions will make you laugh. Creating a somewhat light atmosphere for the series. Also one has to mention that with advancing chapters the author spends more time thinking his games through and the quality improves somewhat.Also decent manga focusing on psychology of the characters are hard to find. (I can only think of Kiseijuu and Eternal Sabbath.)So despite negatives this is still a decent read.

ArtThe artwork of this series is not the best. There's no character that is drop dead gorgeous like the male leads in shoujo mangas, or a cool looking character like in shounen. The outline of the characters are rough, and the expression for the characters are often overly exaggerated. However the artwork does grow on you and as you read the series you get more comfortable with the artwork, The depth of the characters and complexity of the story draws your attention away from the art. Often the exaggerated features of the the characters acts as comic relief and further enhance the quality of the series.

Story The story is very intriguing. The first notion of the story immediately intrigued me. As I read further i was more and more drawn to the story. The use of real psychology terms enhances the story and makes you feel like your learning something. The complexity of the story of course have to be mentioned, and you are always left wondering just how Akiyama and Kanzaki will get out of these tough situations. This manga is in no way a light read, sometime I have to read a chapter more than once to figure out whats going on. This is NOT a manga where you can skip a few chapters and still know whats going on.

CharactersIn some ways the characters are stereotypical. You have Akiyama, the seemingly cold yet genius male lead and Kanzaki the naive but truthful female lead. However as the series progresses the you see characters grow and develop and they grow on you. Also the unlikely friendships formed during the games will warm you heart. How the characters react when they are tempted by money and threatened by huge amounts of debt, really gets you assessing yourself. How will I act if I was in this situation?

Overall this series is bound to challenge you intellectually. There are some faults and improvements that could be made...but this series is amazing! Be ready to get mind blown!

There are no words for this manga. Just freaking amazing. Deserves so much praise. It sparked my interest for psychology. So so good and interesting!

Characters Akiyama is one badass. He is THE genious. I love that cool character of his. I know maybe he's too perfect since he always seems to find a way, regardless of what. Who cares? It goes with the story. Even so, there's Nao to balance him off. She's the complete opposite of him. Some people find her annoying but in my opinion, it's like food. Akiyama is like spicy food and Nao's like the cold drink to cool that spiciness. (Lol what?) She has to be there to contrast him. Plus, I like how people are portrayed though sometimes a bit exaggerated but who wouldn't freak out if you think you're gonna have a huge debt?

StoryThis is exactly why this manga is so amazing. The foundation is psychology. Well, more focused on social psychology. It tells it to you real and there actual terms. After reading, I would go research by myself to find out more. It's so interesting! Even when I don't understand how something works, I will keep reading that chapter until I finally do. There is so much rereading potential here. It's not complete yet but I have reread it a few times to understand certain concepts better and refresh my memory of the story (because it isn't complete yet).

ArtSome people say it's terrible. Okay, well that may be true. It's still bearable though. In my honest opinion however, I freaking love it. It sucks yes but I love it. Why? It gives an unexpected comical twist to the story. The expressions are so priceless, especially when people lose. It's like purposely bad to lessen the tension a bit. It's like Angel Densetsu (which is a hilarious as hell comedy) which has terribad art but serves its purpose for comical reasons. The art does get better so don't worry. Anyway, it's such a minor thing. The story and its base completely overrides any flaws the series has. I don't care. It's awesome!

I love this manga with all my breath, heart, soul, even if the thought of a game like the Liar Game actually existing in the real world - and it COULD... maybe - creeps the heck outta me. But that's just the thing, when you delve into this world: the line between what is and what could be get blurred. I'm not saying that Shinobu Kaitani's writing is without its flaws: there are some loopholes, and several instances of reality suspension, but overall it's a bold, daring dive into the human psyche and the darkness that lurks within.

But ultimately it's not a pessimistic piece of work, although I wouldn't go so far as to say it's optimistic: but Nao (bumbling, naive, well-meaning, endearing Nao) does represent something, and the way he's made her out to be integral to Akiyama's successes in the Liar Game - where the reason the two of them will succeed, in the end, is because they are partners in this - is, I believe, a reflection of his stance in this world of "liars". And I LOVE when writers, artists, whatever use their medium of choice to advocate something they believe in.

One of my favourite parts of this manga too is Nao's growth. Yes, she starts off as weak - of course she would, any normal person WOULD be a little shaky if they'd ever gotten involved in something as horrifying as the Liar Game - but because of Akiyama and her own experiences, becomes so much stronger, something even the dealers take note of. And I love Akiyama too as a character, though he's so much flatter than Nao: I think the spin-off centered on him is Shinobu Kaitani's way of fleshing out his character without detracting overmuch from the central plot of the Liar Game, which I thought was a pretty smart way to make us care about Akiyama and still preserve the flow of the story.

All in all, this is a really good story, and one with fridge value, that will constantly benefit from repeat reads. The only problem, if there is one, is that since it's ongoing, we can't read it all in one-shot. SIGH. HUNGRY FOR MORE.